Myra Bradwell, born February 12, 1831, in Manchester, Vermont, and dying February 14, 1894, in Chicago, was an American publisher and legal reformer who attempted to become the first woman admitted to the Illinois bar. She founded and published the Chicago Legal News beginning in 1868, a journal covering legal proceedings that also conducted investigative reporting on judicial corruption. The Illinois Supreme Court denied her application to practice law in 1870 on account of her sex, and the United States Supreme Court upheld that denial in 1873 in Bradwell v. Illinois, with Justice Joseph P. Bradley writing separately that the natural timidity and delicacy of the female sex unfitted it for many civil occupations. Her case helped push the Illinois legislature to pass a law in 1872 barring exclusion from any occupation, profession or employment on account of sex, with an exception for military service. In 1890 the Illinois Supreme Court admitted her to the bar on its own motion, and the United States Supreme Court followed in 1892; she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Facts
RolePublisher and political activist 1 Nationality / Jurisdiction Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
What reasoning did the Supreme Court give when it upheld the denial of Myra Bradwell's law license?
The Court held that state bar admission is not a privilege of national citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, so Illinois could keep its rule.
In Bradwell v. Illinois the Supreme Court did not rule on whether women could practice law. The majority held that the right to admission to practice in the courts of a State is not one of the privileges of United States citizenship that the Fourteenth Amendment protects, and that this right in no sense depends on citizenship of the United States. Control over licensing lawyers therefore stayed with the State of Illinois. Justice Bradley, joined by Justices Swayne and Field, agreed with the result in a separate opinion that rested on the view that women's place in civil life was limited by their sex. Chief Justice Chase dissented.
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In Legal System
Source Myra Bradwell (Wikipedia)
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Source Myra Bradwell (Wikipedia)tier 2
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1. Myra Bradwell (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction, gender
She attempted in 1869 to become the first woman to be admitted to the Illinois
bar to practice law, but was denied admission by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1870 and the United States Supreme Court in 1873, in rulings upholding a separate women's sphere.
Introduction
Myra Colby Bradwell (February 12, 1831 - February 14, 1894) was an American publisher and political activist. She attempted in 1869 to become the first woman to be admitted to the Illinois bar to practice law, but was denied admission by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1870 and the United States Supreme Court in 1873, in rulings upholding a separate women's sphere. Bradwell had founded and published Chicago Legal News from 1868, reporting on the law and continued that work.
Introduction
Myra Colby Bradwell (February 12, 1831 - February 14, 1894) was an American publisher and political activist.
In Legal System: Law of the United States, Wikipedia lead sentence
was an American publisher and political activist
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Myra Bradwell
Wikidata Q6948094, P569 date of birth claim (year)
P569 (date of birth): 1831
Wikidata Q6948094, P569 date of birth claim (full date)
P569 (date of birth): 1831-02-12
Wikidata Q6948094, P570 date of death claim (year)
P570 (date of death): 1894
Wikidata Q6948094, P570 date of death claim (full date)
P570 (date of death): 1894-02-14
Wikidata Q6948094, P19 place of birth claim
P19 (place of birth): Manchester
Wikidata Q6948094, P20 place of death claim
P20 (place of death): Chicago
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